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Mounties charge Canadian IT guy over botnet scam

Worldwide keylogger empire alleged

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Canadian police have arrested a man accused of planting key-logging malware on hundreds of computers across the world.

Joseph Mercier, 24, of Laval, Quebec, allegedly hacked school board systems in Canada as well as computer networks in the US, France, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Mercier – who was in charge of his employer's information security – reportedly ran his alleged botnet scam at home and at work, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports.

Mercier was released on bail following a brief court appearance on Tuesday. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are still investigating the scope of his alleged misdeeds. It's unclear whether any banking fraud resulted from the scam, the precise motive for which remains unclear.

CTV Montreal has more on the case, including a courtroom sketch of Mercier, in a story here. ®